March 16, 2007
MEDICAID MATTERS
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Governor Eliot Spitzer talks to Albany's Julian Bain about HIV and Medicaid at the Medicaid Matters event on Tuesday |
Medicaid beneficiaries, advocates and front-line service providers hit the halls of the State Capitol in Albany Tuesday to support Governor Spitzer’s budget and health reform plan as part of the fifth annual “Medicaid Matters” week organized by Medicaid Matters New York (MMNY), the statewide Medicaid consumer advocacy coalition. (For more information, click here.)
The day started with a love-fest with Spitzer, continued with dozens of lobbying visits, and ended with an intense and emotional rap session featuring HIV-positive State Senator Tom Duane and a throng of his Senate Democratic colleagues.
Standing up with Spitzer
Despite a Thruway traffic jam that delayed several busloads of activists, the Coalition nailed a noon meeting and press event with Governor Spitzer featuring lots of vigorous hand-shaking, back-slapping and a common commitment to putting patients first.
Spitzer’s top health staffers explained to the crowd how they put their budget proposals together with an eye toward making sure benefits and services weren’t cut. And the Governor made it clear that he’s committed to protecting patients and improving care – in the budget, and in the reform plan he’ll be implementing in the next year.
Stand-up statements from MMNY spokespeople Emma Chapman (a Harlem resident and Medicaid beneficiary affiliated with the Commission on the Public’s Health System); Chris Hilderbrant (killer advocate from Rochester’s Center for Disability Rights); Michael Kink (Housing Works’ own); and Catherine Abate (chief of the Community Healthcare Network and former State Senator from Greenwich Village) emphasized that the Spitzer budget is very different from those proposed by former Governor Pataki.
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Senator Tom Duane – at home with Housing Works |
Myra Johnson, a Medicaid beneficiary and Housing Works client from Crown Heights Brooklyn talked to Duane and Senate Democrats as part of the effort. “I'm a woman living with HIV and a mental disability and I'm in recovery from chemical dependency. For me Medicaid is essential and life-saving,” she said. “During the Pataki years, whenever there was a change in Medicaid, I had deep concerns. Governor Spitzer has made it clear: his budget protects the benefits and services I need to survive. I'm glad he's on my side.”
"This is a great budget for Medicaid beneficiaries," said Denise Soffel of the Community Service Society, coordinator of Medicaid Matters New York. "There are no cuts in benefits, no reductions in eligibility and no new co-pays. This budget strengthens Medicaid and other public programs. It expands health coverage to 400,000 children and extends a helping hand to the nearly one million adults who already qualify for Medicaid but have been prevented from getting coverage by bureaucratic red tape. And it recognizes the importance of Medicaid in combating growing numbers of uninsured.”
Chris Hilderbrant of Rochester’s Center for Disability Rights is a veteran health care and disability rights advocate. "Under Pataki, we had to get arrested to try to make our point,” he said. “Governor Spitzer just gets it. For over a decade people with disabilities have been fighting to make our right to live in the most integrated setting a reality. In the Spitzer budget, we see the first steps towards achieving this goal."
Anthony Feliciano of the Commission on the Public’s Health System said, Patients and consumers will actually increase their access to health care under the Governor’s budget – it’s a step in the right direction.” The Commission and other Medicaid Matters members will advocate to make sure Spitzer’s patient-first priorities – increased primary care, more preventive care, complete access to independent living options, improved health outcomes and universal coverage – become a reality.
Catherine Abate is the President & CEO of the Community Healthcare Network, and a former member of the New York State Senate. "We're frontline care providers; a health care system that puts patients first is a goal we share with Governor Spitzer,” he said. Increasing access to health care through expanded Child Health Plus is an essential part of this vision."
The Health & Welfare Council of Long Island, a key member of Medicaid Matters, also supports the Governor's proposed health care budget. “As a lead agency for the State's Facilitated Enrollment program, we are extremely pleased to see expanded eligibility in the Child Health Plus program, making health care accessible to the nearly 400,000 uninsured children across the State,” said the council’s Gwen O’Shea. “Throughout his proposed budget, the Governor's ‘patient first’ agenda and commitment to consumer needs is evident. We see this budget as the right, first step in addressing the health care crisis in New York State.”
Message discipline – here’s the point
MMNY members worked all week to build support for Spitzer’s budget and reform plan. A few key items:
- Spitzer’s budget protects Medicaid beneficiaries – there are no cuts in benefits, no new co-pays, no restrictions on eligibility.
- Spitzer’s budget includes expanded coverage and fewer bureaucratic hassles.
- Spitzer’s reform plan will push more resources toward patients, primary care and community-based care.
- Medicaid Matters New York supports the proposals the governor has on the table, and we’ll work with him to make his plan for a new patient-centered system a reality.
“Governor Spitzer's budget protects Medicaid beneficiaries, expands coverage and reduces bureaucratic barriers to access,” said Housing Works’ Michael Kink, a Medicaid Matters member. “His health care reform plan will move resources towards the best providers serving the most Medicaid patients. It's a positive plan that's worth fighting for.”
For more Albany budget advocacy information, get in touch with Charles Long at long2@housingworks.org.